Apple buys out micro-LED display firm LuxVue

updated 04:39 pm EDT, Fri May 2, 2014

by MacNN Staff

Could improve battery life and/or brightness in upcoming products

Apple has bought out a firm called LuxVue Technology, sources familiar with the deal say. The details of the transaction aren't known. Apple, though, has issued a boilerplate statement that may all but confirm the arrangement. "Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans," it reads.

LuxVue develops low-power micro-LED-based displays for consumer electronics. The presumable implication of the acquisition is that Apple wants to improve the power consumption and/or the brightness of its screens. Battery life is a long-standing concern of the company, but it might be newly concerned about brightness as it moves into wearables via the iWatch. In direct sunlight displays can often appear washed out.

During its most recently quarterly results call, Apple revealed that it had bought 24 companies in 18 months. The timing is such that LuxVue may have been one of those firms.

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